Love Will Find a Way
by Amanda Marie Johnson
Summary: Buffy decides to take a course in England and meets Spike, the only problem is she's married to Riley, what will happen? rr
1. Grow Up

GUESS WHAT, NEW STORY! YAY! OKAY, SO, REVIEW PLEASE, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.  
  
Buffy rolled over in bed and sleepily looked at the clock. Her eyes widened seeing the time.  
  
"8:30! I'm late!" she said as she jumped out of bed. As she did Riley groaned and turned over in bed.  
  
"What are you doing?" he mumbled, not opening his eyes.  
  
"I have class today and I have to take Gracie over to my mom's" Buffy reminded him.  
  
"Keep it down" he said, going back to sleep. Buffy quickly got dressed and went into her three-year old daughter's room.  
  
"Gracie, sweetheart wake up" Buffy said, going over to her closet and getting out an outfit for her daughter to wear. "Gracie, come on baby, mommy has to take you to grammy's."  
  
"Mommy, I want to sleep" the little girl complained, but got up as her mother told her.  
  
"I know sweetie, but mommy has to go to school today" Buffy said, putting a pair of overalls and a pink shirt on Gracie and white tennis shoes. She brushed her hair and put it in pigtails. "There, now we're all set."  
  
"I want say bye to daddy" Gracie said.  
  
"Okay, go say goodbye to daddy" Buffy said and Gracie ran into Buffy and Riley's room over to his side of the bed.  
  
"Bye daddy, I love you" the little girl said.  
  
"Bye Gracie" Riley mumbled.  
  
"Come on honey, we're late" Buffy said and Gracie ran into the living room.  
  
"Don't be late tonight, Buff" Riley said, not facing her.  
  
"I love you" Buffy said.  
  
"Mmm-hmm" he mumbled and she sighed and left the room  
  
Buffy took her daughter over to Joyce's house and dropped her off. From there she went to Sunnydale University and met with her friends.  
  
"Hey Buffy" Willow said as Buffy made her way into the classroom and sat down next to her and her girlfriend Tara.  
  
"Hey" Buffy said, out of breath. "I just made it."  
  
"What happened?" Tara asked.  
  
"I over slept" Buffy said.  
  
"Is Gracie with your mom or Riley?" Willow asked.  
  
"My mom" Buffy said. "Riley's not really into taking care of kids. I mean, he has a job to put food on the table and he puts me through school and I'm grateful for that, so I give him a break with Gracie."  
  
"You coming to the Bronze tonight?" Tara asked. "Xander's back from Portland and he wants to introduce us to his new girlfriend."  
  
"I don't know, I have to see what Riley has planned" Buffy said and the professor came into the room.  
  
Buffy arrived back at her mother's house to pick up her daughter at 1:30.  
  
"Hey, Buffy" Buffy's seventeen-year old sister Dawn said when Buffy entered the house.  
  
"Hey Dawnie" Buffy said. "Where's Gracie?"  
  
"She went to the gas station with mom. They should be back in a couple minutes" Dawn said. "How are you?"  
  
"Good, you?" Buffy asked her little sister.  
  
"Good" Dawn said.  
  
"Are you and Jamie still going out?" Buffy asked.  
  
"No, I'm going out with Luc now" Dawn said.  
  
"Luc, what's his deal?" Buffy asked.  
  
"He's eighteen, graduating this year. He has brown hair, green eyes. He's about six feet tall and he's so hot" Dawn said.  
  
"You like him?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yeah, a lot" Dawn said.  
  
"Well, you and I are alike in the sense that we definitely go from relationship to relationship, but you've gone through more. I dated Angel, then Scott, then Parker before I found Riley. You've been through—" Buffy began to name off the list, but Dawn did it for her.  
  
"John, Julian, Brad, Marc, Rich, Pete, Alex, Ned, Frank, Jamie and now Luc" Dawn said and Buffy looked at her weirdly. "What, I haven't slept with any of them."  
  
"Well that's good" Buffy said and Joyce walked in the house with Gracie.  
  
"Mommy!" the little girl squealed and ran over to Buffy who picked her up.  
  
"Hi baby, did you have fun at grammy's?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yeah, we went to the store and grammy bought me some candy" Gracie said and Buffy looked at Joyce.  
  
"Sorry, I couldn't resist" Joyce smiled.  
  
"Thanks" Buffy smiled back. "We should go, Riley's waiting."  
  
"Okay, bye Gracie" Joyce said, kissing her. "Bye honey" she said kissing Buffy.  
  
"Bye, bye Dawnie" Buffy said.  
  
"Bye, bye Gracie" Dawn said and Buffy and Gracie left.  
  
Before going home Buffy decided to go to the store to buy some things for the rest of the week. She really wanted to go to the Bronze. She missed Xander and she wanted to see him. He'd been in Portland for seven and a half weeks visiting family. His grandfather had recently died and he went to Oregon to support his family. Now he was coming back, and with a woman. Xander had never really had a girlfriend, not a real one anyway. Buffy really wanted to go see who she was and what she was like, but she didn't know if Riley would want to go or if he wanted her home.  
  
Buffy arrived home at 3:00 and she took the groceries into the house where Riley was sitting on the couch.  
  
"You're late" he said, keeping his eyes on the television set.  
  
"Sorry, I had to go the store to get some things for the house" Buffy said, setting the bags into the kitchen and going back into the living room. "Honey?"  
  
"Yeah" he asked, still looking at the TV.  
  
"Uh, did you have anything specific planned tonight?" she asked, sitting next to him. Gracie climbed into her father's lap and snuggled into him.  
  
"Why?" he asked, now looking at her.  
  
"Well. . .I wanted to go to the Bronze tonight. Xander's back from Portland and the whole gang's gonna be there" Buffy said.  
  
"Gang? Aren't you a little too old for high school gangs?" he asked her.  
  
"Do you wanna come with?" she asked him.  
  
"No" was all he said. "I have things to do tonight."  
  
"Oh, okay" she said, getting up.  
  
"Who's gonna watch Gracie when you're out gallivanting around town?" Riley asked.  
  
"You can't?" Buffy asked.  
  
"I just told you I had things to do" Riley said.  
  
"Right, well, I can get my mom to do it" Buffy said.  
  
"Your mom just watched her this morning" Riley said.  
  
"She doesn't mind. I'll call her now and ask her" Buffy said and went upstairs.  
  
Joyce said that she would watch Gracie and Buffy took Dawn with her to the Bronze.  
  
It was about nine-thirty when Buffy and Dawn arrived at the Bronze. They walked over to their usual table and Willow, Tara, Xander and a girl were there.  
  
"Xander! It's so great to see you" Buffy said, hugging her friend.  
  
"Hey Buff" Xander said.  
  
"I've missed you" Buffy said.  
  
"You too" Xander said. "Hey Dawnmeister."  
  
"Hi Xander" Dawn said and he hugged her as well.  
  
"Isn't Giles supposed be here?" Tara asked.  
  
"Yeah, he said he would be a little late, but he'd be here" Willow said and then turned to the blonde woman sitting next to Xander. "He's our grownup friend, but not in a creepy way."  
  
"Well, Buff, Dawnie, this is Anya Jenkins. We met in Portland, but oddly, we're both from here in Sunnydale and were going back at the same time. Anya, this is Buffy Summers and her little sister Dawn."  
  
"Nice to meet you" Buffy said.  
  
"You too" Anya said and Giles came up to them.  
  
"Hello all" he said.  
  
"And this is Rupert Giles, are not creepy grownup friend" Xander said to Anya.  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment" Giles said.  
  
"Giles, this is Anya Jenkins, my girlfriend" Xander said.  
  
"Delighted to make your acquaintance" Giles said.  
  
"How very English of you" Buffy joked.  
  
"Nice to meet you too" Anya said.  
  
"So, drinks?" Xander asked as he got up. "Buff, Dawn, Giles, you want?"  
  
"Sure, margarita" Buffy said.  
  
"Me too" Dawn said.  
  
"Not" Buffy said.  
  
"Fine, 7 up" Dawn said.  
  
"Giles?" Xander asked.  
  
"Beer, thank you" Giles said.  
  
"Okay" Xander said and went to the bar. The group sat there silent for a moment before Willow spoke up.  
  
"So, Anya, were you visiting family in Portland like Xander?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, my aunt and uncle" Anya said.  
  
"That's nice" Tara said. "How long have you two been dating?"  
  
"About five weeks" Anya said.  
  
"Well Xander's a great guy" Buffy said.  
  
"He is" Anya said and Xander came back with the drinks.  
  
Buffy arrived home late. She quietly closed the door and carried Gracie upstairs. After she put her to bed she went into her own bedroom and changed into her nightclothes. After doing that she crawled into bed and Riley rolled over to face her.  
  
"Do you know what time it is?" he asked rhetorically.  
  
"It's two, I know, it's late" Buffy said. "I'm sorry honey."  
  
"Buffy, you really need to grow up, you know that" Riley said and turned away from her. She sighed and turned over and went to sleep. 


	2. Reality

NEW CHAPTER! ENJOY, AND AS ALWAYS, R/R!  
  
Buffy sat on the back porch studying as Gracie played in the grass.  
  
"Mommy, will you push me?" the little girl asked her mother.  
  
"Sure baby" Buffy said and put down her book and went over the where Gracie was swinging on her swing set. "How high?"  
  
"Really high" Gracie said and Buffy began to push her. Just then Willow and Tara came out into the backyard carrying cups.  
  
"Hey, Buffy" Willow said.  
  
"Hey Will, Tara, what's up?" Buffy asked and stopped pushing her daughter. Gracie got off the swing and ran over to Willow and Tara.  
  
"Auntie Willow! Auntie Tara!" she said happily and hugged them.  
  
"Hey little one" Tara smiled.  
  
"How are ya, Gracie?" Willow asked.  
  
"Good" Gracie said.  
  
"So, what brings you guys here?" Buffy asked as they made their way back to the house.  
  
"We wanted to know if you wanted to go to the college bookstore with us" Willow said.  
  
"Yeah, to get the books we need for second semester. Also, there's this new book out that Will and I think will be interesting" Tara said.  
  
"Sure, why not" Buffy said. "Gracie, you wanna come with mommy and Willow and Tara?"  
  
"Yeah!" the little girl said happily.  
  
"Okay, let's go" Buffy said and picked up her books to take hem into the house. As she grabbed her purse, Riley came down the stairs.  
  
"Where are you going?" he asked.  
  
"To the college bookstore" Buffy informed him. "We need to get some books for the next semester."  
  
"You spend too much time with that college crap" Riley snarled and went into the kitchen.  
  
"Let's go" Buffy said, ignoring her husband's remark.  
  
Buffy and Gracie drove with Willow and Tara to the college bookstore.  
  
"Okay, let's see..." Willow said, walking along the aisles.  
  
"Mommy, is there any books I can have here?" Gracie asked.  
  
"No sweetie, all these books are for grownups" Buffy said and took a list out of her purse. She needed three books for the new semester. "Okay...oh, Will, I found the first book."  
  
"Great, how many are there?" the redhead asked as she and Tara came over to them.  
  
"Three, just enough" Buffy smiled, handing the books to her two friends.  
  
"All right, now all I need is sociology and physics and I'm done" Willow said.  
  
"Don't forget about Marietta Lincoln" Tara reminded her girlfriend.  
  
"Who's Marietta Lincoln?" Buffy asked, shifting her daughter form her left hip to the right one.  
  
"She's this ethics professor and she has all these really great theories and stuff. Tara and I thought it would help us with our ethics class" Willow said.  
  
"Oh" Buffy said, searching for her other two books.  
  
"Here we go. 'Find your inner morality: The insight to Ethics' by Marietta Lincoln" Tara said, putting one of the books in her basket and handing another to Willow.  
  
"Thanks" Willow said.  
  
After everyone had everything they needed they stopped off for some coffee.  
  
"I can't believe I spend 75 bucks on these books. Riley's gonna have a cow" Buffy said.  
  
"You couldn't help it. You need them for school" Willow said, sipping her latté.  
  
"Mommy, can I have another cookie?" Gracie asked as she put down her hot chocolate. Buffy smiled and handed another cookie to her daughter.  
  
"Can you believe Xander has a steady girlfriend?" Buffy asked her friends.  
  
"I know, it's weird, but Anya seems like a nice person. Xander seems to like her," Willow said.  
  
"And it'll be good for him" Tara said.  
  
"Yeah, it will" Buffy said. "So, is she a part of the gang now?"  
  
"I guess so, unless things don't work out. I hope they do. Xander's had bad luck with woman lately" Willow said.  
  
"Lately?" Buffy question her friend.  
  
"Okay, ever since we were kids" Willow corrected herself and Tara smiled.  
  
"I think it's gonna work out" Tara said.  
  
"Me too" Buffy said.  
  
"I concur" Willow said.  
  
"Me too" Gracie said and they all laughed.  
  
Buffy arrived home with her books and Gracie a while later. She set her books on the counter in the kitchen and got a bottle of water out of the fridge.  
  
"Mommy, can I go play?" Gracie asked.  
  
"Sure honey, go play with your toys" Buffy said and Gracie ran upstairs. Buffy went into the living room and sat on the couch. A couple minutes later, Riley came into the house and stumbled a little bit. "Riley."  
  
"Hey" he mumbled and slumped on the couch.  
  
"Where were you?" she asked him and he turned to her, obviously drunk.  
  
"I don't have to tell you where I was. You're the woman and I'm the man," he said crossly.  
  
"You're drunk," Buffy said, getting up and walking away from him. Outranged, he go up and grabbed her arm, turning her around to face him.  
  
"Don't you ever walk away from me again" he said, squeezing her wrist.  
  
"Let go of me, you're hurting me," Buffy said, yanking her arm away from him. "What is your problem?"  
  
"My problem? You wanna know what my problem is. My problem is your stupid decorations!" Riley said, picking up a vase of flowers and throwing it to the ground, shattering it.  
  
"Stop it" Buffy said.  
  
"My problem is these stupid books!" Riley said, picking up the books she had set on the recliner and throwing them across the room.  
  
"Riley please" Buffy said.  
  
"But my biggest problem of all is you. You're my problem" he said gravely, coming closer.  
  
"Get away from me" she said.  
  
"Get away? Okay" he said and began to walk away. Two seconds later he turned around, backhanding her in the face, knocking her to the ground.  
  
"Ah!" she said, covering her cheekbone.  
  
"Get up!" he demanded, pulling her up by her hair and pushing her roughly against the wall.  
  
"Riley please, please" Buffy begged. "Please, Gracie's gonna hear."  
  
"I don't care!" he shouted in her face and grabbed her by the throat. "If you ever back mouth me again..." he said, squeezing her throat. "I'll kill you." With that he let her go and stormed upstairs. Buffy dropped to the ground holding her throat and began to cry. 


	3. Big Chances and Even Bigger Obstacles

Buffy woke up in one of the reclining chairs in the living room. She had slept there the night before. She didn't want to sleep in the same bed as Riley. She needed to give him time to cool off. She got up and went into the downstairs bathroom to look herself over. She had a bruise on her cheek and a small one on her throat. Terrified that people would know what happened, she got out her makeup to try to cover the bruises. Riley had hit her before, but not like this. He had never threatened her life before, which scared her. Did he mean it? Would he really kill her? Just as she was finishing with her makeup, Riley came down the stairs.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked, coming into the bathroom.  
  
"Just applying some makeup," Buffy told him and he put his arms around he waist.  
  
"You know I love you, right?" he asked, kissing her cheek.  
  
"I know," she said. "I love you too."  
  
"You just can't make me angry, you know that" he told her. "Especially when I'm drunk."  
  
"I know, I'm sorry baby," she said quietly and he turned her around to face him.  
  
"It's okay, I'm sorry too," he told her, kissing her forehead. "I have to get to work. Why don't you make something special for dinner tonight."  
  
"How about your favorite?" she offered with a sweet smile.  
  
"That's great, see ya," he said, kissing her and leaving. She took one last look at herself in the mirror before going upstairs and dressing. After she did that she went into Gracie's room where she was playing with her toys.  
  
"Hi baby" Buffy said, sitting on the floor next to her daughter.  
  
"Hi mommy" Gracie said.  
  
"Are you hungry? Mommy can make you some breakfast" Buffy said.  
  
"Okay" Gracie said and Buffy stood up and picked up the little girl and carried her downstairs and into the kitchen. She set her at the kitchen table and was about to go into the fridge, but the phone rang. She went over to the wall and answered it.  
  
"Hello?" she said into the phone.  
  
"Mrs. Finn?" a voice came on the phone.  
  
"Yeah, that's me. How can I help you?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Hello, this is Maxwell Rossman, from the college" Mr. Rossman told her.  
  
"Okay" Buffy said.  
  
"I'm calling on behalf of your scalar ship," he said.  
  
"But, I'm not on scalar ship" Buffy said.  
  
"Yes, I know, but you were chosen for one. See, we had this thing going where we picked the best five students in the college and put them in a raffle, your name was picked so if you wanted, you could go and study in England" Mr. Rossman said.  
  
"Are you for real?" Buffy exclaimed. "Oh my...that would be awesome!"  
  
"Good then, we'll have a meeting tomorrow at three o'clock. The trip is scheduled for next month, February 23rd" Mr. Rossman said.  
  
"Oh my god, thank you, Mr. Rossman" Buffy said.  
  
"You're very welcome" Mr. Rossman said. "Have a good day."  
  
"You too" Buffy said and then hung up. Buffy smiled brightly. She couldn't believe this was happening. Her, one of the best students at the college. There were so many students there. Willow was there. She couldn't believe that she was going to England.  
  
Buffy made breakfast for Gracie and then called all of her friends, here sister and mother and told them to come over to her and Riley's house. She wanted to tell them all the good news. Since Riley wouldn't be home until six-thirty, she told everyone to meet at seven.  
  
"Buffy, why are we having a bunch of people over? Are you throwing a party?" Riley asked, getting agitated.  
  
"No, honey. I have some good news I want to tell everyone," Buffy said, setting pretzels and chips and drinks out.  
  
"What is it?" Riley asked.  
  
"You're just going to have to wait until everyone gets here" Buffy said playfully and kissed him on the cheek. Just then the doorbell rang and Buffy answered it to find Willow and Tara.  
  
"Hey guys" Buffy said, letting them in.  
  
"Hi, is anyone here yet?" Willow asked.  
  
"Nope, not yet" Buffy said. As she was about to shut the door her mother and Dawn came up.  
  
"Hey" Dawn said.  
  
"Oh, hey" Buffy said, letting them in also.  
  
Fifteen minutes later everyone was there and Buffy could tell them her good news.  
  
"Okay, all right, this is big, I mean humongo" Buffy said. "I got a call today when I was making breakfast from this guy, Mr. Rossman."  
  
"Oh, he's from the college" Willow said.  
  
"Mmm-hmm, well he said that they were having this thing where they took the top five students from the college and put them in a raffle and picked one, and my name was picked!" Buffy said ecstatically, but no one reacted. "Do you know what that means?"  
  
"That you get a prize?" Xander asked.  
  
"Kinda, I get to go to England!" Buffy almost screamed happily.  
  
"England? Really?" Willow asked, seemingly a little jealous.  
  
"Yeah, isn't that great?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yeah, honey, it's terrific" Joyce said, hugging her.  
  
"Wait, how are you going to pay for this?" Riley asked, stopping the excitement.  
  
"I got a scalar ship," Buffy told him. "It's so awesome. I mean, I never really thought about going to England, but...I would love to go."  
  
"Well, that's great. Congratulations" Tara said.  
  
"Thank you" Buffy smiled brightly.  
  
"Yeah, congrats" Willow said, hugging her. "You've earned it."  
  
"Good job, Buff" Xander said.  
  
"Riley, honey, what do you think?" Buffy asked.  
  
"It's, uh...it's great" Riley said unemotionally.  
  
"I can't wait" Buffy said.  
  
"When are you going? For how long?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Next month, and I don't know for how long, probably a semester" Buffy said.  
  
"What about Gracie?" Riley asked. "You're just going to leave your three year old daughter for four months?"  
  
"Well...no, I mean, I could take her with me" Buffy said, thinking about it.  
  
"Then I'd be away from her for four or more months" Riley said. "Buffy, I don't think it's such a good idea."  
  
"I want to go. It'll be a good experience," Buffy said.  
  
"Buffy—" Riley began.  
  
"Can we talk about it later, please?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yeah" he said, a little angry.  
  
A couple hours later everyone had left and Buffy was cleaning up. Riley was ticked that Buffy had made fool out of him.  
  
"What the hell is the matter with you?" he asked her.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"You know what the hell I mean, damn it!" he shouted and came toward her, which started Gracie.  
  
"Mommy" the little girl cried.  
  
"Uh...Gracie, baby, go upstairs in your room and play your Winnie the Pooh tape, really loud okay. It'll be fun, go ahead, it's okay" Buffy said, knowing all too well what was coming.  
  
"Okay" Gracie said, going upstairs. Once she was out of sight, Riley pushed Buffy up against a wall.  
  
"Riley please" Buffy begged and he slapped her across the face.  
  
"Shut up!" he shouted. "You wanna make a fool out of me, huh?" he asked, pushing her to the ground. "I'll show you."  
  
"Riley please, don't!" Buffy begged and he kicked her.  
  
"Don't you ever, ever— get up bitch!" he shouted, pulling her up by her hair and slamming her against the wall again. "You look at me when I'm talking to you!" He slapped her across the face again, hitting her nose, making it bleed. "You are not" slap. "Going to" slap. "Leave me here all alone!" slap. "Do you hear me?! Do you!" slap. He grabbed her by the throat. "Answer me!"  
  
"Yes, yes" Buffy sobbed. "I'm sorry, please, please." You could barely hear her words over her sobs now.  
  
"Oh, god, baby" Riley said. "I'm sorry." He tried to kiss her, but she looked away. "Oh, no, no baby, look at me, please. I'm sorry" he said, tilting her head towards him and kissing her. "I'm sorry." He fell to his knees and hugged her. "Baby I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay" Buffy said, still crying. "It's okay." 


	4. England He we Come

Buffy sighed as she brushed out the tangles in her hair. She had to give herself credit. Three years of being abused by her husband and still no one knew about it, or at least she didn't think so. She finished brushing her hair and left her bathroom. Riley hadn't woken yet and she was quiet so she didn't wake him. After his little rage fest the night before he went to bed, leaving her in the living room. She didn't know why she forgave him, but she just had to. She couldn't help that she was in love with him, and she was. She loved him more than she wished she did.

Buffy dressed nice. Today was her meeting with Mr. Rossman at the college. She put on a pair of black slacks, a pink dress shirt and a blazer to match the pants. After dropping her daughter off at her mother's she proceeded to the college.

"Okay, Buffy, you can do this. Just smile and nod and try not to make a complete fool out of yourself" Buffy told herself and knocked on the door.

"It's open," a man said and Buffy opened the door.

"Hi, I'm Buffy Finn" Buffy said.

"Hello, I'm Frank Rossman and these are my associates, Jennifer Haller and David Crosby" Mr. Rossman said.

"Nice to meet you" Buffy said politely.

"Take a seat Mrs. Finn" Mr. Rossman said and Buffy did so. "You've been chosen to take a course of your choice in England for one semester which starts next month. If you accept and choose to go there are some conditions."

"I understand" Buffy said.

"Condition one is that you keep your GPA above a 3.5" Mrs. Haller said.

"I can do that" Buffy said.

"The second is that at the end of the year you must write an essay for the school newsletter telling of your experience and how it has shaped your life" Mr. Rossman said.

"I can do that too" Buffy said.

"And the third condition is that you must stay for at least three weeks. After which you can leave if it doesn't suit you. Now the semester is six months, can you commit to that?" Mr. Rossman asked.

"Yes, definitely" Buffy said.

"Well, then congratulations" Mr. Rossman said.

"Do you have any questions?" Mr. Crosby asked.

"Yes, one, can I take my daughter with me? I have a three year old daughter at home" Buffy asked.

"Of course. We'll provide you with on campus housing" Mr. Rossman said.

"Okay, thank you" Buffy said.

"All right, well, we'll meet again next month to give you everything you need, including the plane ticket, have a nice day" Mr. Rossman said.

"Thank you, you too" Buffy said and shook everyone's hands and left. After leaving the college, Buffy went to Willow and Tara's dorm to tell them the good news.

"Hey, Buffy" Willow said and let her in.

"Hey guys, well, I just got done with my meeting and I'm all set. Leaving February 23rd. I'll be gone until August" Buffy said.

"August, wow" Tara said.

"We're sure gonna miss you, Buff. I mean, we're happy for you, but will miss you" Willow said.

"Are you taking Gracie?" Tara asked.

"Yeah" Buffy said.

"What do you think Riley is going to say about this?" Willow asked.

"I don't know. But, this is my decision. I mean, I love Riley, with all my heart, but I can't give this up" Buffy said.

"Well, we're happy for you, even if he isn't" Willow said.

"Thanks guys" Buffy said and hugged them.

Buffy arrived home a while later and Riley was there sitting on the front porch reading the paper.

"Hey" he said.

"Hi honey" Buffy said and sat next to him on the porch swing.

"Where's Gracie?" Riley asked, putting down the paper.

"Oh, my mom wanted to keep her a little longer. She took her to the zoo" Buffy told him. "So, I uh…I went to that meeting today, the one about England."

"Really? Are you going?" Riley asked.

"I want to" Buffy said. "If it's okay with you."

"It's not my decision to make. If you want to abandon me, go ahead" Riley said.

"Honey, I'm not abandoning you" Buffy said. "You've left for a period of six months before. I'm doing this for my career."

"Fine, you wanna go, go" Riley said and went into the house. Buffy sighed, but she couldn't hold back a smile. She was so excited to go to England.

The Next Month 

Buffy packed her last suitcase. She had just came back from her last meeting with Mr. Rossman and had her ticket and everything she needed. She put the last piece of clothing she needed in her suitcase and closed it.

"You ready?" Riley asked in monotone. He had hardly spoken to her over the last four weeks.

"Yeah" Buffy said. "I have Gracie and my suitcases, most our downstairs, this is the last."

"You are such a bitch," he said. She looked at him confused.

"What?" she asked.

"You're lucky I don't kick your ass. If it weren't for your mother and everyone being downstairs I would" Riley said.

"Riley, what are you talking about?" Buffy asked and he pushed her up against the wall and put both is hands on the wall on both sides of her head and she gasped.

"If you think that this is gonna be a way to escapes from me, you're wrong. You forget, I can drop by whenever I feel like. All I got to do is get on a plane. If I find out that you've been sneaking behind my back with another guy, I'll kill you" he said.

"Riley, I love you. I'm not doing this to escape from you. I'm just doing it because it'll be a good opportunity. I'm gonna come back to you" Buffy said.

"You better, or you'll wish you never met me" Riley said and left the room. Buffy sighed and realized that she was shaking. Shaking it off she picked up her suitcase and went downstairs to join everyone who came to see her off.

"You ready?" Joyce asked.

"Yeah, all set" Buffy said.

"Okay, come on, we've got to get to the airport before you miss your plane" Joyce said and everyone except for Riley piled into three cars, Joyce's, Xander's and Giles'.

They arrived at the airport and helped Buffy with her luggage. All teary-eyed, they said goodbye.

"Okay, have fun. Work hard" Willow said. "And you better call me."

"I promise" Buffy said and they hugged.

"Have fun, Buffy. We'll miss you" Tara said and they hugged.

"See ya, Buff. Call, write, e-mail, the whole nine, okay" Xander said and they hugged.

"I will" Buffy said and moved on to Giles.

"Have fun. England is a beautiful place, you'll like it there" Giles aid and hugged her. "Maybe I'll come and visit."

"Okay" Buffy said.

"Bye, Buffy. I'm gonna miss you" Dawn said and they hugged.

"I'll miss you too, honey" Buffy said and moved to her mother. Dawn picked up Gracie.

"Bye mom" Buffy said.

"Bye honey. Have a good time. I'm so proud of you" Joyce said and kissed Buffy on the forehead. Dawn handed Gracie to Buffy. "Bye my little princess" Joyce said to her granddaughter and kissed her.

"Bye Grammy" Gracie said.

"Okay, we've gotta go. We'll see you in August" Buffy said and waved bye before going to her gate and boarding the plane. "England, here we come."


	5. A Whole New Life

NEW CHAPTER! YAY! ANYWAY, I'M GLAD YOU GUYS LIKE THIS STORY. KEEP REVIEWING AND I'LL KEEP UPDATING.

Buffy smiled as she entered her new home. She had butterflies in her stomach, but the good kind. This was going to be great. Gracie had fallen asleep on the cab ride and she carried her into the house. The moving truck with her things would be coming in less than an hour.

"Good, look at this place" Buffy said to herself. The apartment was beautiful. Still holding onto her daughter, she walked around, giving herself a tour. The apartment had two bedrooms and a big bathroom. It had a balcony that overlooked a beautiful garden. It had a nice sized kitchen with a fridge and an electric stove. "Wow" Buffy breathed at the place.

"Mommy" Gracie said sleepily and opened her eyes.

"Hi baby" Buffy said. "Look, this is our new place. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's nice" Gracie said and Buffy put her down. "How long are we gonna be here, mommy?"

"For six months. Until August" Buffy told her.

"Is daddy coming to live with us?" Gracie asked.

"Uh, no, baby. Daddy's gonna stay in California. He has a job there. But we'll see him again when we go back" Buffy said and the doorbell rang and Buffy answered it to find some guys standing there.

"Hello, Mrs. Finn?" one of the guys asked.

"Yes" Buffy said.

"We're the moving company. We're here with your stuff," the guy said.

"Oh, of course, come in" Buffy said and let him in. He directed two guys in with boxes.

A while later the guys had everything in the apartment and had left. Buffy sat down on the couch where Gracie had again fallen asleep. As she curled up in a ball, she too fell asleep.

Willow sighed as she flipped the page in her ethics book. She laid sprawled out on her and Tara's bed and Tara sat at the top by the pillows.

"Marietta Lincoln has some good theories in here" Tara said.

"Mmm-hmm" Willow said, though she wasn't really listening.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Tara asked as she crawled to the foot of the bed and laid beside Willow.

"Nothing, it's just weird without Buffy here. I mean, she's gonna be gone for six months. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for her. She deserves this, but I just miss her" Willow said.

"I know you do, sweetie, but she'll be back before you know it" Tara said, pushing the hair out of Willow's face. Willow smiled at her girlfriend.

"You're right" Willow said. "I just can't think about it. And besides, she'll call soon."

"Right" Tara smiled. "You just have to be patient."

Dawn came down the stairs and sat on the couch with her mother. She sighed heavily and Joyce looked at the seventeen year old.

"What's wrong, Dawnie?" Joyce asked.

"It's weird. I mean, I always knew that Buffy lived ten minutes away and I could just drop by anytime I needed her, but now. She's 8,000 miles away across the Atlantic ocean" Dawn said.

"She'll be back, honey" Joyce said, turning off the TV.

"But don't you miss her?" Dawn asked.

"Of course I do. But this is good for her. And the University of Birmingham is a good college. She'll be back in six months. If you think about it, August doesn't seem like that far away" Joyce said.

"I guess" Dawn said. "I'm gonna go over to Janice's. I'll see you later."

"Okay, be home for dinner" Joyce said and Dawn nodded and grabbed the keys off the key rack and left.

Buffy woke suddenly and looked around. She had realized that she had fallen asleep and she still had unpacking to do. She sighed and got up. This was difficult for her. She wasn't used to not being around family. She hoped that she would make friends quickly so she didn't have to be alone.

She went over to the first box and unpacked it. Inside was a bedspread her mother had given her and some other things for her room. She took in into her bedroom and put it in there. She came back out and looked for the box labeled Gracie. Inside that was Gracie's bedspread and the things for her room.

After an hour of unpacking, Buffy decided to take a break. Since she didn't have any food in the house she decided to get her and Gracie dressed and go out to eat. It would be a good way for her to see Birmingham.

"Gracie, baby, wake up" Buffy said and shook her daughter lightly.

"Hi mommy" Gracie said, opening her eyes.

"Hi, honey. Come on, we're gonna get dressed and go out to eat, okay" Buffy said and picked Gracie up. She had put their clothes in their rooms so they could find them easily.

After getting dressed Buffy looked in the phonebook for some places to eat. After only searching for a couple minutes she found the name of a coffee shop that was just down the street from Buffy's apartment called Gina's.

Buffy and Gracie walked to the coffee shop and entered it. It was a cute place. It had round tables with tablecloths on them and saucers. Buffy and Gracie sat at a table and a waitress came up to them.

"Hello, welcome to Gina's. Would you like to start off with something to drink?" the waitress asked.

"Yes please. I'd like a double mint latte. Gracie, do you want some chocolate milk or hot chocolate?"

"Chocolate milk" Gracie said.

"Chocolate milk also" Buffy said.

"Okay, do you need more time to order?" the waitress asked.

"Yes please" Buffy said.

"I'll be right back with your drinks" the waitress said and left. Buffy looked at the menu to find something to eat for her and her daughter.

"Gracie, what do you feel like eating?" Buffy asked.

"Grilled cheese" Gracie said and Buffy searched the menu and found it.

"Okay, they have grilled cheese" Buffy said. Just then she heard the bell to the door ring and looked over to see a guy and two kids come in. For some reason, of which she didn't know, her heart jumped.

"Hey, Gina" the guy said.

"Hey Spike, hey guys" the girl, apparently named Gina said and Spike and the two kids took a seat at the table next to Buffy and Gracie's. "The usual for you all?"

"Actually, we're gonna try something different today" Spike said. "We're actually gonna look at the menu."

"Okay" Gina said and went back to what she had been doing. Spike looked over at Buffy and smiled. Her heart jumped again and she smiled back at him.

"Hi" he said to her.

"Hi" Buffy said back. 'What is going on with me?' she asked herself. "Are those your kids?"

"One of them is. My daughter, Paige. The boy is my nephew Michael" Spike said. "Is she yours?"

"Yeah" Buffy said.

"What's her name?" Spike asked.

"Gracie" Buffy said and the waitress came up to them and handed them their drinks. "Thank you."

"Your welcome. Are you ready to order?" she asked.

"Yeah, can we get a grilled cheese and a BLT please" Buffy said.

"Sure" the waitress said and wrote it down and left again. Buffy looked over to Spike's table and Gina came over to him.

"Okay, Spike, what'll you guys have?" she asked.

"Uh...to drink two glasses of milk and coffee black and to eat...three cheeseburgers" Spike said.

"Okay, be back" Gina said and left. Spike looked over at Buffy and smiled and she smiled back at him.

"So, how old are they?" Buffy asked. She didn't just want to sit there staring at him.

"Paige's four and Michael's seven" Spike said. "Hold old is she?"

"Gracie's three" Buffy told him.

"Oh" Spike said and the waitress came up with Buffy and Gracie's food.

"Here you go," she said.

"Thanks" Buffy said and she walked away again. Buffy and Gracie ate and paid and then left the coffee shop, Buffy forgetting about the guy who she had talked to. They went back up to their place so that Buffy could finish putting her things away.

"Mommy, I want to set up my room" Gracie said.

"Okay, mommy put all your boxes in your room, so I'll help you put things where you want them" Buffy said.

"Okay" Gracie said and they went into her room. "I want my bed to go by the window."

"Okay, I can do that" Buffy said and cleared a place for Gracie's bed by her window. After putting her bed where Gracie wanted it, Buffy put on the sheets and bedspread. "Okay, where do you want your toy box?"

"Um...hmm...at the end of my bed, like you and daddy have" Gracie said.

"Oh, okay" Buffy said and put the box at the foot of Gracie's bed. After that Buffy hung up Gracie's clothes and put away her pajamas and her room was finished. It only took about a half an hour to get everything situated. "Thank god you don't have that much stuff" Buffy said to herself. "All right, baby, why don't you go into the living room and watch some television."

"Kay mommy" Gracie said and ran into the living room. Buffy went into her own room that was much less put together than her daughter's. She sighed and began putting her things where she wanted them.

It wasn't until about seven o'clock at night that Buffy finished her own room. After the last thing was put in its place, Buffy flopped down on her bed exhausted. Gracie came into her mother's room and crawled up on the bed with her.

"Mommy, I miss daddy" Gracie said and Buffy sighed.

"I know, honey. I miss daddy too, but it's gonna be fun, I promise" Buffy said. "Come over here. Come cuddle with mommy." Gracie crawled over and snuggled into Buffy. "Tell you what. Tomorrow, we'll call daddy and tell him how we're doing."

"Okay" Gracie yawned and Buffy kissed her on the forehead.

"Everything's gonna be great" Buffy said. "We're gonna be good."


End file.
